


Richard Is a Dick And That's That

by all_ships_are_my_otp



Category: Silicon Valley (TV)
Genre: Friendship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-26
Updated: 2017-08-26
Packaged: 2018-12-20 05:47:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11914473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/all_ships_are_my_otp/pseuds/all_ships_are_my_otp
Summary: “Remember that acronym we used to use when we wanted to talk shit about Richard, but didn’t want to preface every sentence with the ‘Richard is a great guy’ bullshit?”Gilfoyle smiled. “Oh yeah. RIGBY, right? Those were simpler times.”“I guess RIGBY is dead now, huh?”“Yeah,” Gilfoyle said. “But we can change it. How about...Richard Is a Dick And That’s That.”“RIDATT,” Dinesh said slowly. “Doesn’t really have the same ring to it.”“Well, life sucks like that sometimes.”





	Richard Is a Dick And That's That

After quitting Pied Piper, Dinesh and Gilfoyle entered the yellow rental van and began to drive home. Now that they didn’t have Richard to yell at red stoplights and slow drivers, it was awfully quiet. The only sound Dinesh could hear was the low rumbling of the truck’s engine.

 

Dinesh couldn’t help but notice how much more comfortable and spacious the cab was without Richard. He figured there was probably some metaphorical meaning behind that observation, but he was too tired from pulling an all-nighter to dismantle Anton to think about it. Not to mention shaken up about what had just happened.

 

“I can’t believe Richard fucking did that,” Dinesh said, slumping in his seat. “To Jared, and to Bighead...”

 

“Not to mention Anton,” Gilfoyle said, not taking his eyes off the road.

 

“Richard really has changed, huh?”

 

“Remember when his app used to be a music copyright app? I used to make fun of him for being so naive. As if artists care about that shit. They steal from each other all the time.”

 

“I wonder what Jared is doing right now.”

 

“He probably already has a new job by now,” Gilfoyle said. “Nice salary, good benefits…he’ll be fine.”

 

“No, I mean, like with Richard. Do you think they’ll ever talk again?”

 

Gilfoyle shrugged. “Jared was creepily devoted to Richard, but Richard was a huge dick to Jared. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jared cuts Richard out of his life entirely. He has hinted at being abused previously. He’s probably good at forgetting and moving on by now.”

 

Dinesh swallowed. There was something deeply unsettling about the idea of Jared without Richard. Jared going to some other company, all smiles and awkwardness and SWOT boards, casually mentioning high-stakes situations he had lived through at Pied Piper just as he used to occasionally bring up questionable aspects of his childhood or his life at Hooli. Referring to Richard as his ‘previous employer’, being completely professional about the whole thing. Where just a few days ago, Jared would have been waxing on about Richard’s enigmatic genius.

 

“Remember that acronym we used to use when we wanted to talk shit about Richard, but didn’t want to preface every sentence with the ‘Richard is a great guy’ bullshit?”

 

Gilfoyle smiled. “Oh yeah. RIGBY, right? Those were simpler times.”

 

“I guess RIGBY is dead now, huh?”

 

“Yeah,” Gilfoyle said. “But we can change it. How about...Richard Is a Dick And That’s That.”

 

“RIDATT,” Dinesh said slowly. “Doesn’t really have the same ring to it.”

 

“Well, life sucks like that sometimes.”

 

Dinesh sighed. “Honestly, I should feel pissed at Richard, but I’m not. Well, I kind of am. But mostly I just feel...vulnerable, you know? We gave Richard everything we had. We forfeited good job offers, we gave him ninety-hour work weeks, we even did illegal shit for him. And then he fucks us over? By lying to us repeatedly? And it wasn’t just us. Bighead was Richard’s oldest friend, and Jared and Richard were even closer...but Richard fucked them over too! Without a second thought!”

 

“RIDATT, am I right?” Gilfoyle said boredly.

 

“This isn’t just about Richard,” Dinesh continued. “Is the Valley always going to be like this? Friends stabbing each other in the fucking back in the off chance it results in success? I mean, is there anyone we can really trust here? Everyone who has ever given us funding has fucked us over as soon as their own self-interests stopped aligning with Pied Piper’s. Any engineers we met either wanted our money or our IP, and they left as soon as soon as they got one of the two. If I go work for some other company, I don’t want to have to worry about watching my back like this is the fucking Hunger Games. I just want to write good code and get rich.”

 

“That’s why I don’t trust anybody by default. Life is easier that way.”

 

“And you’re fine with that? Trusting nobody?”

 

“I didn’t say that. I said I distrust people at first. If someone proves themselves to be reliable, then I trust them.”

 

“So like Tara?”

 

Gilfoyle snorted in amusement. “No way. She lies to me about sleeping with other guys. Constantly. Of course I don’t trust her.”

 

“If not your fucking girlfriend, then who?”

 

Gilfoyle averted his gaze. “Well, you. Obviously.”

 

“Seriously? You trust me? After what I did as CEO...you know, the whole 21 billion dollar mistake thing?”

 

“You made a mistake,” Gilfoyle said simply. “Granted, a hilariously expensive mistake. But it wasn’t on purpose. I trust you because you’re reliable, you never lie about stuff that matters, and you write good code. That’s what’s important to me. We’re a team. We have to look out for each other.”

 

Dinesh grinned. “Really?”

 

“Well, yeah. Obviously.”

 

 _I trust you. We’re a team._ Gilfoyle had said it as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. Obvious was good. After months of constant uncertainty and stress, Dinesh needed something obvious to rely on.

 

“Can you pull the car over for a second?” Dinesh said impulsively.

 

Gilfoyle gave him a weird look and parked the truck on the side of the road.

 

Dinesh leaned over and enveloped him in a tight hug. It felt kind of uncomfortable with the stick shift jabbing into his side, but Dinesh didn’t care—the benefits far outweighed the costs. He sat there, just holding onto Gilfoyle, breathing in his scent, feeling his warmth and stability. Gilfoyle stayed rigid in his seat, not reciprocating the hug but not pulling away either.

 

The hug passed the five second mark, then the ten second mark, and eventually Dinesh realized he had been holding Gilfoyle for a really long time and the situation was slowly becoming awkward. Even by his standards. Dinesh sheepishly let go of Gilfoyle and retreated to his seat.

 

“What was that?” Gilfoyle asked carefully.

 

“I don’t know. I wanted to say something, but just saying ‘thanks’ would have been insufficient and...weird.”

 

“So instead you gave me the most rigid and awkward pre-lapdance seen by mankind?”

 

“What? No!” Dinesh squeaked. “It was a hug. Obviously. You fucking prick.”

 

“Oh. Right.” Dinesh did not notice the faint blush emerging on Gilfoyle’s cheeks.

 

“See, this is why I don’t get you,” Dinesh said. “You say nice things, or write beautiful code. But after you reach a certain limit of good things done per day, you switch back to being an asshole and making fun of me.”

 

Gilfoyle shrugged. “I could say the same thing about you. I wouldn’t say it’s a bad character trait. Being an asshole makes life more pleasurable than being a fucking Jared. And when shit gets real, I’d say we are okay people. As opposed to Richard, who apparently...well, RIDATT.”

 

Gilfoyle disengaged the parking brake and veered the truck back onto the road.

 

“So what now?” Dinesh asked. “Do we just get other jobs? Do we even still live in the incubator?”

 

“Dunno. As long as we stick together and work on good tech, I’m up for anything.”

 

Dinesh smiled. “Sounds like a plan.”

**Author's Note:**

> Setting inspired by the amazing [Anton's Funeral](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11581152) by the amazing ProgramasaurusRex. Hope it's ok that I borrowed the basic fic structure. :)))


End file.
